In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Prum about sex, gender, and biology. They talk about why sex and gender are sometimes controversial, defining sex, and sex as history. They discuss the materialist-feminist framework, gender as an extended phenotype, gender performativity, genes and chromosomes, Wolffian and Müllerian ducts, the role of hormones, the future of gender, and many more topics. Richard Prum is an Evolutionary Ornithologist at Yale University. His research in...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 46 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Stephen Porges about polyvagal theory. They discuss the importance of safety, the vagus nerve and polyvagal theory, and why the Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) is important. They discuss the various branches, the social engagement system, neuroplasticity, and how the polyvagal theory works with trauma and co-regulation. They discuss the practical and clinical uses of the polyvagal theory, criticisms of the theory, future of the theory, and m...
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Stephen Houlgate on Hegel’s Logic and his philosophy of being. They discuss the main aims of Hegel’s Logic and the use of categories, why Hegel believed Kant’s Logic is not critical enough, categories of thought and natural kinds, and separating thinking and being. They discuss Hegel and Heidegger on being, Hegel on objectivity and being presuppositionless, and pure being, becoming, and nothing. They discuss Nietzsche and Hegel on becoming, Das...
Dec 03, 2023•2 hr 8 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Adam Mestyan about the post-Ottoman Middle East. They discuss nation states, recycling empire, international imperialism, and sovereignty. They talk about political order rather than governance, local states, nation states or federations, republics or monarchies, constitutive fictions, British and Ottoman involvement in Egypt, Egyptian sovereignty and the Muslim Brotherhood, the kingdom of Syria, and many more topics. Adam Mestyan is Associate ...
Nov 30, 2023•1 hr 26 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Carl Robichaud about past and present nuclear risks. They discuss why nuclear weapons are still relevant, creation of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, and attempts at regulation after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They discuss Bay of pigs, SALT I & II, START I & II, and the nuclear arms race during the Cold War. They talk about the nine countries that currently have nuclear weapons, nuclear taboo, India-Pakistan tensions with nuclear weapons, Ir...
Nov 27, 2023•1 hr 59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Sarris about the Roman emperor, Justinian. They give an overview of Justinian, provide the context of the Roman Empire, discuss the rise of Justin and him adopting Justinian and Justinian’s succession. They talk about the lessons Justinian learned from Justin’s reign, urgency and energy early in Justinian’s reign and his emphasis on religious law. They discuss the importance of Armenia, zealous nature of Justinian with his religious laws,...
Nov 23, 2023•1 hr 30 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Joseph LeDoux about human cognition, consciousness, and existence. They discuss his work with Michael Gazzaniga on split brain patients, the four realms of existence, idea of the self, personality and temperament, and integration information theory. They talk about the extended mind, habits and goal direct behaviors, granular and sub-granular areas of the prefrontal cortex for consciousness, and Tulving’s 3 layers of consciousness. They also di...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 42 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kristian Rönn about carbon accounting and climate change. They talk about his work with Future for Humanity and how he created Normative. They discuss the landscape of climate change at the moment, his company Normative, and the differences between net zero and carbon neutral. They discuss carbon offsets, carbon accounting, and ton-year accounting. They talk about scopes 1, 2, & 3, global regulations, cap and trade, greenwashing, impact of ...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 48 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Douglas Brinkley about various conservation presidents in the 20th century. They discuss his process for how he wrote his conservation trilogy, understanding the psychology of Theodore Roosevelt (TR’s) and how conservation was important to him, and TR’s complex relationship with animals that included preservation and hunting. They talk about how TR used the Federal Government to protect natural land, his relationship with Native Americans, and ...
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 46 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Cat Bohannon about the evolutionary history of females. They discuss her background, limited female subjects in many research papers, “morgie” and how milk became important, other features of milk such as bonding, attachment, and the “let-down” reflex. They also talk about the different types of wombs for monotremes, marsupials, and placentals, placenta and the menstrual cycle, and risks of pregnancy. They also talk about the grandmother hypoth...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 34 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicholas Dames about the history of the chapter. They discuss how chapters have boundaries, define what is a chapter, and talk about literacy form. They also talk about the chapter as temporal units or scenes, Tabula Bembina and the first chapter, capitulation and Augustine, and how the chapter evolved with the history of the Bible. They also discuss the chapter in the 15th century, Locke’s anti-chapter theory, Jane Austen and the significance ...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Walter Veit about animal consciousness. They talk about various frameworks for understanding consciousness, the naturalist approach, cognitive ethology, and pathological complexity thesis. They discuss consciousness arising in the Cambrian period, defining consciousness, free will, consciousness profile, Integrated Information Theory, interacting with animals, and many more topics. Walter Veit is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Re...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 46 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael Muthukrishna about energy, cooperation, and global themes. They discuss the broad scope of the book, importance of theory, energy being essential for cooperation, corruption and cooperation, laws of life, cooperation fueling human growth, and some of the negative aspects of cooperation. They also talk about intelligence, immigration, wealth inequality, meritocracy, and many other topics. Michael Muthukrishna is Associate Professor of ec...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 37 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sam Ottewill-Soulsby about Christians and Muslims relationships during the age of Charlemagne. They discuss Charlemagne and his context, the viewpoint of the Muslim world, and the landscape of the Abbasid and Umayyad empires. They discuss prestige diplomacy, frontier diplomacy, importance of Islam and Christianity, four legal schools of Islam, and Carolingian religious values. They also discuss the dynamics with the Abbasid, gift giving, war an...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 41 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Melvin Rogers about Black American thought and democracy. They discuss the two visions/stories of democracy in America, utility of rhetoric, and whether white supremacy is still a relevant term in present-day America. They discuss Walker’s use of appeal, on freedom, Jefferson on we the people, political loss, Baldwin and race relations, how we move forward, and many more topics. Melvin Rogers is the Associate Director of the Center for Philosop...
Oct 23, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Juliet Hooker about the politics of loss and the racial themes connected with loss. They discuss how racial justice is a prominent theme in today’s society, they define loss and how it is political, and discuss anticipatory loss. They also talk about white Americans with Anticipatory loss, symbolic vs. material loss, democracy and political loss, and class and inequality. They also discuss Civil Rights today, Black Maternal health, public griev...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 38 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Manon Garcia about sexual consent. They define what is consent, legal and moral consent, qualitative sex and consensual sex, and where power and responsibility fit within sexual consent. They discuss gender norms, consent out of politeness, reciprocal pleasure, consent in marriage, sex as a conversation, and many more topics. Manon Garcia is a philosopher, author, and Junior Professor of practical philosophy at Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germ...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 27 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Melissa Kearney about the two-parent privilege. They define what is the two-parent privilege, the class gap in families and importance of college educated parents. They talk about conservative family values and views on two-parent households, two parents working outside of the home, working moms, stay-at-home moms, and single moms. They talk about the child tax credit, childhood poverty, birth rates, and many more topics. Melissa S. Kearney is ...
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 40 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kevin Mitchell about the evolutionary story of free will. They discuss why biology and genetics help understand free will, different levels of determinism, reacting vs. choosing at the cellular level, and choice with ion channels in the cell. They also discuss dimensions of free will, vision and choice, decision making at cortical levels of the brain, creativity, and metacognition. They engage on personality theories, notion of the self, AI and...
Oct 09, 2023•2 hr 28 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Clancy Martin about suicide. They talk about his personal experiences and why he wrote the book in such an honest manner. They discuss why suicide is such a taboo topic, why gratitude for life isn’t always enough, practical ways to help when feeling suicidal, and the imminence of death. They talk about freedom and burden of living, assisted suicide, treatment, and many more topics. Clancy Martin is a philosopher and author. He is a professor of...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Yascha Mounk about the cultural wars and how identity has become central for society today. They discuss his motivations for writing the book and his perspective on identity and cultural issues. They talk about the lure of the identity trap, the history of the identity synthesis from Foucault, to Said, to Spivack, to Bell, to Crenshaw, and the links between these figures. They discuss the impact of social media, institutional capture, how to en...
Oct 02, 2023•1 hr 25 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Adrian Goldsworthy about the 700 years of rivalry between the Roman and Persian Empires. They discuss the importance of studying past empires, overview of the rivalry, and the Roman and Persia Empires in this 700 year period. They discuss the differences in governing and peaceful co-existing, complexities of Armenia, greatness of Augustus, and the silk road. They also discuss Constantine, Justinian’s reign, the Arab armies and how they quelled ...
Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 44 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Tom Holland about the Golden Age of the Roman empire. They provide an overview of Pax Romana, greatness of Augustus, and Nero as a tyrant. They talk about the chaotic year of AD 69 with four emperors, Judean revolt, and Vespasian’s peacemaking abilities. They discuss the importance of Pliny, environmental contexts for peace, the five good emperors and the rule of Trajan and Hadrian, legacy of the Roman empire, and many more topics. Tom Holland ...
Sep 25, 2023•54 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Lipsky about the history of climate science denial. They discuss how he wrote this book, origins of discovering climate change, Edison and Westinghouse, and the influence of Einstein. They discuss the history of scientists observing climate changes, Nixon and the Clean Air Act and EPA, and Fred Singer and his involvement with the Unification church. They also talk about believing pseudoscience, PR campaigns for science denial for smoking ...
Sep 21, 2023•2 hr 47 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Myisha Cherry about forgiveness. They define forgiveness, discuss how moral systems are important for forgiveness, and discuss the narrow view and the broad view of forgiveness. They also talk about emotions and behaviors, what we do with bitterness, actions or the person, different capacities for different people, canceling others and forgiving public figures, forgiving one’s self, and many other topics. Myisha Cherry is associate professor of...
Sep 18, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Hajar Yazdiha about collective memory and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss how we can accruately understand Dr. King’s message and legacy, how we reckon with history, and what a multicultural coalition looks like today. They discuss collective memory, creating culture, primary audience of Dr. King’s message, various groups using Dr. King’s message, and many more topics. Hajar Yazdiha is a sociologist and writer. She is an A...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daron Acemoglu on technology, inequality, and power. They discuss how technological progress is a choice, defining progress, power of persuasion, and needs and innovations. They also talk about innovation, globalization, and automation in the post World War II era, AI and culture, fixing the challenges of technological inequality, and many more topics. Daron Acemoglu is an economist and Institute Professor of Economics in the Department of Econ...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 5 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Hugo Drochon about Nietzsche’s political thought. They talk about why Nietzsche’s political thought has been ignored, Nietzsche’s great politics, Nietzsche’s emphasis on culture, Plato and political philosophy, and how to build a culture. They also talk about philosophy of state, democracy, slavery, caste systems, Nietzsche’s politics in modernity, and many other topics. Hugo Drochon is a political theorist and historian. He has his PhD from Ca...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Katja Hoyer about the history of East Germany. They discuss the culture of East and West Germany and how East Germany originated, East Germany and the relationship with the Soviet Union, and the political makeup of East Germany. They also talk about the significance of Ulbrecht and socialism, creation of the Berlin Wall, and the Stasi in East Germany. They discuss the failed economics in East Germany in the 1980s, similarities between unificati...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Diana Fleischman about a wide range of topics including polyamory and eugenics. They talk about how evolutionary psychology is a good framework for understanding relationships, patriarchal and matriarchal societies, history of monogamous and polyamorous relationships and jealousy and polyamory. They also talk about the difficult history of eugenics, decoupling bad from the good, polygenic scores, governmental differences with prenatal care, GWA...
Aug 31, 2023•2 hr
